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February 2025 Newsletter

Our updates

A young boy sits smiling in his hospital bed with a male doctor next to him.

Enter and View visit to the Children’s Emergency Department.

In December 2024, we carried out an Enter and View visit at the Children’s Emergency Department in Stoke Mandeville Hospital, Aylesbury.

Read about our findings and the response from Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust.

A teen male talking with a female Doctor.

What are young people's experiences of GP healthcare?

We wanted to understand young people's experiences with GP healthcare, so between October and December 2024, we surveyed young people and held two focus groups to explore their experiences.

Amongst other things, we found that two-thirds relied on parents or guardians to book appointments, and half of them didn’t know how to do it on their own.

Read the full report, including all our findings and recommendations.

An image of someone having their blood pressure taken.

Pump it up!

We are delighted to now be able to offer local residents the opportunity to check their blood pressure for free at our events, after teaming up with Buckinghamshire Council Public Health to become Pump it Up Pressure Partners.

Checking your blood pressure regularly is important for knowing how healthy your heart is, and you can see what’s happening over time. There are many locations across Bucks where you can check your blood pressure for free.

More information can be found here.

Your voice counts

Share for Better Care Week, 24-28 Feb 2025

Take three minutes to tell us about health and social care in your area and make care better for everyone in your community.

Get involved in a national week of action to help more people have a stronger voice in their care.

Tell us about your experiences.

A woman smiling and looking at her laptop screen

Tell us your thoughts on our annual priorities

Every year, we set priorities that shape our research and community efforts—but we can’t do it without you.

What areas do you think we should focus on this year?

Share your thoughts in our survey.

We're on the road!

Our Spring Roadshow has started, and we’re having so much fun meeting everyone and visiting places across Bucks.

We’ll be travelling until 7 March, so there’s plenty of time to come and see us. If we’re visiting a place near you, stop by and say hello and let us know your experiences of health and social care services in Bucks—we’d love to meet you.

Find full details of where we will be and when.

Find details of our regular monthly visits.

Engagement focus

This month, Aamna attended the first Community Action Day of the year in High Wycombe, where she talked with local residents about a variety of subjects including access to GPs, patient transport and assistance with adaptive aids for the home.

The Community Action Days are organised by Buckinghamshire Council as part of the Opportunity Bucks programme and give residents an opportunity to discuss concerns with a number of organisations including the Council, the NHS, Thames Valley Police and many more.

In the news

Your right to a second opinion

NHS England announced the rollout of ‘Martha’s Rule’ in hospitals across England from April. The patient safety initiative gives patients and their families 24/7 access to a rapid review from an independent critical care team if they are worried about their or a loved one’s condition.

Stoke Mandeville Hospital was one of the pilot sites testing the most effective way to implement Martha’s Rule, and part of Martha’s Rule, 'Call 4 Concern' locally, has now been rolled out to most adult inpatient wards at the hospital.

Find out more about 'Martha's Rule'.

Patients put off seeking care due to 'dysfunctional' admin in the NHS

Healthwatch England joined The King’s Fund and National Voices in highlighting the scale and impact of poor NHS administration and patient communications.

'Lost in the System: the need for better admin in the NHS' warns that issues such as letters arriving after appointments, not being kept updated about waiting times for treatment, and chasing test results can not only be frustrating, but they can also risk some patients not receiving the care or diagnosis they need on time.

Read in full.

Buckinghamshire Council launches a new 'All-Age Carers Strategy'

Buckinghamshire Council has launched a comprehensive 'All-Age Carers Strategy' – aimed at making life easier for everyone who provides regular unpaid care and support to another person in Buckinghamshire.

The new strategy details how the council and its partners will continue to develop and deliver meaningful support to unpaid carers, to enable carers to maintain a positive quality of life alongside their caring role.

Find out more.

Could you be a Governor?

Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust (OHFT) will be holding elections to its Council of Governors over the coming months.

Governors are volunteers representing the public and service users supported by the Trust.

Nominations are open from 28 February until 28 March.

Find out more and apply.

FAQs about the Governor elections.

Volunteering

Volunteers Are at the Heart of What We Do!

Our volunteers make a big difference - some volunteers give their time to support others, while others help by sharing their skills. No matter how big or small, every act of volunteering makes an impact!

Hear about the difference our volunteers have made below:

‘ …she was empathetic and a great asset to our organisation ..she assisted in Hindi/ Urdu at a focus group with ladies who didn't have English as a first language, (showing) understanding of the culture …..(to) build a rapport with them.’

’…she has provided a fresh perspective ..(and) has presented new suggestions and ideas.’

‘ ..they provided valuable additional resource and generated additional public feedback for the organisation'

Find out how you can get involved today.

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